The
commander of one of the Israeli army's infantry brigades refused an offer for a
free concert for his troops that was scheduled to be performed by female pop
star Sarit Hadad for fear that her presence would insult the
sensibilities of religious soldiers, according to Channel 10

Col. Ofer Winter,
the commander of the Givati Brigade, refused to allow the concert to
go ahead, even though Hadad had offered to sing for the troops for
free, according to Channel 10. The singer
was ready to appear at a special brigade event next week, but those plans
appear to be off.

The
Attorney General has demanded an explanation after the army asked female
singer Sarit Hadad to perform a free concert
for Givati Brigade soldiers and then retracted the offer after she
accepted.

...
If Hadad was excluded because she was a woman, this would “run
counter to the principle of equality to which all public authorities in Israel
are bound,” Deputy Attorney General Dina Zilber wrote in the request
for an explanation. “It would therefore be illegal.”

In a letter published on Tuesday, Interior
Minister GideonSa’arinstructed the Population and Immigration Authority and the Jewish
Agency to grant Israeli citizenship to the spouse of any Jew, regardless of the
sexual orientation of the couple.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement to
the press that Tuesday’s decision was made following several inquiries made by
the Jewish Agency regarding requests foraliyarights by non-Jewish spouses of gay Jews.

The ministry said the decisions was effective
immediately and that one such immigration visa had already been granted.

“I do not see a distinction between Jews in
heterosexual marriage and those who wed in same-sex marriages abroad in
accordance with the law,”Sa’arwrote in his letter to the Population and Immigration Authority.

“Both fulfill the purpose of the Law of Return
according to the principle that ‘The children will return to their land,’” he
said, quoting a biblical reference to the return of Jews from the exile.

... The decision is especially
remarkable because in recent months it appeared as [Interior Minister
Gideon] Sa’ar was re-inventing himself as the defender of the state’s
Jewish character.

Though an avowed denizen of downtown Tel-Aviv, known to even
moonlight on occasion as a DJ,Sa’aralienated many of that city’s secular residents when
he effectively outlawed much of the commerce that takes place in the city over
Shabbat. HadSa’arsuddenly found God? After all, he was rumored to have
begun keeping the Sabbath himself.

… And so I
joined WoW while I was in Jerusalem. It was a truly meaningful
experience for me, helping me unlock even more holiness from the Kotel.

The sound of one hundred women’s voices rising together was exceptionally
powerful. The sense of sisterhood I felt among us – native Israelis, Ethiopian
immigrants, American tourists, mothers and daughters praying under the
same tallit, Orthodox women in long sleeves and mid-calf skirts – was
incredibly strong.

Despite our religious and political differences, we all
stood beside each other in solidarity, speaking to the same God, affirming each
other’s right to pray in the way she feels most comfortable.